Summary: Like the Book of Kings, 1Ch and 2Ch were originally
one book according to Jewish tradition. However, the Chronicles are not simply a
repeat of the history already recorded in the books of Samuel and Kings. The
Book of Chronicles was written to remind the nation of their entire history, and
of their position among other nations, emphasizing the history of priestly
worship from the death of Saul to the end of the Babylonian captivity. The
Chronicles contain more of the relationship of the kings to the worship of God,
than does the Book of Kings. The history of the Northern Kingdom is omitted from
the Chronicles because the Northern Kingdom had no bearing on the development of
the true worship of God in Jerusalem.
Key verses:
"David... said to Solomon his son, 'Be strong and courageous,
and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is
with you' " (1Ch 28:20).
"But will God really dwell on earth with men? The heavens,
even the highest heavens, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have
built!" (2Ch 6:18).
Outline
1. Genealogies: 1Ch 1:1 - 9:44
a) Patriarchs: 1Ch 1:1-54
b) Judah: 1Ch 2:1 - 4:23
c) Simeon: 1Ch 4:24 -43
d) Tribes east of the Jordan River: 1Ch 5:1-26
e) Levi: 1Ch 6:1-81
f) Six other tribes: 1Ch 7:1 - 9:44
2. The reign of David: 1Ch 10:1 - 29:30
a) The death of Saul: 1Ch 10:1-14
b) David's rise: 1Ch 11:1 - 20:8
c) David's latter days: 1Ch 21:1 - 29:30
3. The reign of Solomon: 2Ch 1:1 - 9:31
a) Solomon's inauguration: 2Ch 1:1-17
b) Solomon's Temple: 2Ch 2:1 - 7:22
c) Solomon's Kingdom: 2Ch 8:1 - 9:31
4. The kingdom of Judah: 2Ch 10:1 -
36:23
a) The division of the kingdom: 2Ch 10:1 -
11:23
b) Rehoboam: 2Ch 12:1-16
c) Abijah: 2Ch 13:1-22
d) Asa: 2Ch 14:1-16:14
e) Jehoshaphat: 2Ch 17:1-20:37
f) Jehoram and Ahaziah: 2Ch 21:1-22:9
g) Joash: 2Ch 22:10-24:27
h) Amaziah: 2Ch 25:1-28
i) Uzziah: 2Ch 26:1-23
j) Jotham: 2Ch 27:1-9
k) Ahaz: 2Ch 28:1-27
l) Hezekiah: 2Ch 29:1-32:33
m) Manasseh: 2Ch 33:1-20
n) Amon: 2Ch 33:21-25
o) Josiah: 2Ch 34:1-36:1
p) Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, Jehoiachin, and Zedekiah: 2Ch
36:2-14
q) Exile: 2Ch 36:15-23
SAMUEL / KINGS / CHRONICLES DIFFERENCE
"Samuel-Kings was written just after the fall of Jerusalem in
586 BC. The author, whether it was Jeremiah or someone else from the 'school of
the prophets,' had access to the royal records of both the northern Kingdom of
Israel and the southern Kingdom of Judah, as well as records that antedated the
Divided Kingdom period. It is truly a story about the history of the kings of
Israel, beginning with the desire to have a king because of the wickedness of
first Eli's sons and then Samuel's, down to the wickedness of the last kings of
Judah before it became time to 'overturn, overturn, overturn... until he come
whose right it is' (Ezek 21:27). Samuel-Kings then documents much of the reasons
for judgment.
"Chronicles, on the other hand, was written more to encourage
the returning exiles. From the opening words citing Cyrus' decree, down through
the selection of material showing God's continuing grace even during times of
judgment, the writer of Chronicles (Ezra?) concentrates on God's plan to return
the exiles back to the land, living righteously under God's rulership. The
Chronicles record differs from that of Samuel-Kings with regard to Abijah's
reign and also Manasseh's... the differing treatments of David's reign are also
instructive. If one only reads Chronicles, one would never know about the
seven-and-a-half years of Ishbosheth's reign, about David's sin regarding
Bathsheba and Uriah, or about any of the fallout from that sin -- namely what
happened with Amnon and Tamar, and about all that involved Absalom's rebellion.
"In short, Samuel-Kings serves to document why God was right
to judge both Israel and Judah, while Chronicles was focusing more on God's
mercy" (DB).